Secret by Ayumi Hamasaki Review
Not Yet
Ok, it has an odd beginning. Still no singing yet but it sounds really soothing. Ok let’s get this out of the way for the rest of the review : Her voice
. The melody sounds really good. I really love how it goes from soft to quiet. The instrumental is great in this song especially during the chorus. My only real complaints are that she doesn’t seem to be singing much. I would have liked it more if the song was longer and her singing sounded a little less repetitive. This situation sort of reminds me of how Mirror was a great intro and it was then extended into Mirrorcle World and I loved it.
4/5
Until That Day
Instrumental sounds good so far. I’m not really feeling the guitar. Verses are just meh. This song is starting to have the same problem that Not Yet had, periods of no singing. I really dislike when there are many periods of no singing. I hope this isn’t a trend during the album. When she starts singing fast it sounds nice. Now there is an acoustic guitar. The song feels a little too long but the ending sounded good.
3/5
Startin
The song sounds energetic at the beginning. The first few seconds sort of reminded me of “Step You”. Verses are better than “Until That Day’s”. The chorus sounds nice. Again I’m not really feeling the guitar. The song is definitely catchy, I’m starting to like it more as I listen to it. No singing during the bridge
. Ending felt a little uneventful.
3.5/5
1 Love
Guitar
. Verses are ok. She starts to sing in a monotone form after a while, I don’t think it sounds that good. I think it’s the chorus. The chorus is only good at the end of it. Period of no singing…still no singing…back into the chorus. I’m not so impressed by this song. I prefer the ones I’ve listened to already.
2/5
It Was
Soft start. Ballad
. The instrumental sounds nice so far. The verses are ok, nothing special. Wow, I like the chorus a lot! It sounds very emotional. I think this is going to be the very first ballad I’ll ever like from Ayumi
. Even her voice doesn’t sound too bad here. Oh jesus, another period of no singing. All of the bridges in Ayumi's song's so far are pretty bad :-/. The instrumental makes up for it though.
4.5/5
Jewel
Piano at the start. I went back to disliking her voice. I’m not feeling the verses or the chorus yet. It gets better as I listen to it, but not by much. I know its supposed to be emotional but I just don’t feel anything from this song. I’m very disappointed by this song.
2/5
Momentum
Piano again, with a little synth. I’m glad that a strong beat began after a minute in, it sounds better with it. With a name like momentum, I thought it would sound differently. The song isn’t bad but it’s not really special, I’m bored of it half way through.
2.5/5
Taskinst
Ooooo pretty opening. Lol, very loud guitar just started playing. I prefer this kind of guitar MUCH more than the kind of guitar playing on most of the previous songs. It seems to just be an interlude but I sorta like it.
3/5
Born To Be
Soft singing in the background. Suddenly got loud. It sounds like other people are singing along with Ayumi. The verses and chorus are actually good. I really like the “Want to be free” part that includes other people, it sounds nice. The instrumental is good. Now that I think about it, do you guys remember how we were talking about Pokeman last time? This song reminds me of one of the songs on the album I used to have as a kid
. I’m enjoying this song.
4.5/5
Beautiful Fighters
A whistle and marching at the beginning. Omg really high-pitched voice
. The high-pitched part that repeats is a little catchy though. Verses are meh as is the chorus. I feel like this song would be way worse without the catchy high-pitched part being repeated throughout the song. Just like “Momentum”, I don’t think it’s a bad song but nothing really draws me in.
3/5
Blue Bird
A calm start. I’ve already heard this song before, I never really liked it. I like how her voice echoes in the pre-chorus. The chorus is just ok. Before I started listening to this album, this is exactly the kind of song that I imagined that Ayumi always made. I’ve never really liked it. I don’t have much else to say.
2.5/5
Kiss o’ Kill
Oh! Before I start listening, I just remembered that this is the song that one of you guys told me was similar to Microphone. I hope it is. Odd beginning. Organs are playing in the background. I can hear the similarity now that the guitar is playing. She should sing during that part instead of after it like she is doing, it would sound good. The chorus is ok, I prefer Microphone’s. I love the instrumental when she isn’t singing. The bridge has some cool effecs, but again, no singing
. The chorus after the bridge sounds good with alternating periods of singing alone and singing with the instrumental. The very ending sounds cool.
3.5/5
Secret
Soft start like most of her songs. Another ballad. I’m not liking the instrumental, it’s pretty but a little boring. Nothing is really drawing me in so far. Her other ballads are better.
. Ok it’s over now. This is a horrible way to end the album.
1.5/5
If I compared this to any of Utada’s recent albums, Secret does not hold up for me. However, I do have to admit I thought Ayumi’s music was a lot worse than this. Some of the songs sounded exactly like I thought they would, boring. There were a few standouts like Not Yet, It Was, and Born To Be. I never really noticed how much guitar Ayumi really uses. The only way I like rock songs is if they are REALLY good. Unfortunately most of the songs that are rock on this album just aren’t in my opinion. I didn’t like the ballads but “It Was” really surprised me. Overall, it may seem like I gave the album a low score but trust me, I was expecting much much much much much less than this.
Disclaimer – As you all know, I hate Ayumi's voice and her singing style. I tried to keep that out of the way of my review and just focus on the songs as a whole. If you are a hater and don’t like my opinion…..
Newt45
It's one of her best albums all around along with (miss)understood, although almost all of Ayu's albums are one of her best.
